Hey fam, the resident mad rapper is back once again with his year-in-review, aptly titled "2007 Wrap-Up." Some people hate on Skillz for continuing to do this year after year, (I'll admit, last year's wasn't exactly flames), but he got my attention with this one. Apparently there's a video on its way as well.

There are two artists I really missed out on in 2007 that I actually feel sick to my stomach about:

1. Evidence ~ Wow, this was a huge mistake. Let's set the scene: It was March of this year, and the buzz surrounding this Dilated People rapper's solo effort was building. Every once in awhile, I'd catch the first single for The Weatherman LP, "Mr. Slow Flow," tearing up Sirius. A few months later, the second single, "All Said and Done," nearly got me hooked. But for some reason, I never got around to copping the album, (too busy graduating, I guess). Fast forward to November, when I DLed DJ Dub's Little Brother Good Clothes Mixtape. Track 9, holy shit.

I listened to that song everyday before every class. I'd picture the music video in my head, Ev and Tay knocking motherfuckas on their ass. Alchemist championing his MPC like "yeah, ALC forever bitch."

December 1st: I got to see Ev live with LB at The Black Cat in DC. After he killed his set, he jumped off stage and chilled in the crowd like a regular dude. That's why I LOVE real hip hop. And now, after nearly 9 months in the making, I'm listening to The Weatherman LP. Classic shit.

2. Jay Electronica ~ I'm still not even sure who this dude is. Or what he is. Some say he's an alien, a superhero, possibly both. I first learned of him from fwmj's pristine hip hop blog rappersiknow.com. Basically Jay is in with the "in-crowd," and hey, if you were best friends with Just Blaze, you'd be pretty happy right?

Check out this very well-written piece on Jay, featuring interviews with Just, Erykah Badu, and Young Guru. So what's so special about duke? Well, basically, he's got the internet on lock right now. If you read Andres' above piece, it talks in depth about Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn), which was supposed to be released online on Christmas Day. It was hyped incredibly, but mysteriously, Jay still hasn't delivered Act II to either fwmj or Just Blaze.

Hip hop heads stayed up all night, (and some left their families alone at dinner on Christmas Day), awaiting the release of this "special" piece of music. And he just recently shut down his MySpace, further adding to the confusion. Is he about to take over the world?

As we await Act II, here's Act I, which was takes its beat from Jon Brion's work on The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack. Enjoy.